Lifting and swinging support for railway motor-cars



J. E. LOEFFLER. L IFTING AND SWINGING SUPPORT FOR RAILWAY MOTOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21,1921.

Patented Sept. 20, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH n. LOEFFLER, or s'r. LOUIS, MIssoUni.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 20, 1921 Application filed March 21, 1921. Serial No. 453,938.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osnri-r E. LonrrLnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at St; Louis, Missouri, have inventedv acertain new and useful Improvement in Liftin and Swinging Supports for Railway Mbtor- Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming .part of this specification. I

This invention relates to a device for raising motor cars out of supporting engagement with the rails, whereby said car is swingingly supported by said device for the purpose of placing it on acrossing track or for derailing it, and is designed particularly as an improvement on the device disclosed in application filed October 30, 1919, Serial Number 334,592.

The principal object of the invention is to generally improve upon and, simplify the construction of the lifting mechanism and to provide a simple and efiicient means whereby the car can be quickly raised or lowered in position.

Further objects of the invention are, to provide a displaceable manually operable member which can be shifted into operative and inoperative positions, and to construct the supporting frame so that it and parts supported thereon can beeasily and quickly detached from the chassis of the motor car, thereby afl'ording access to the chassis and the engine of the motor car for adjustments or repairs.

In the drawings, 2

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of the frame of a railway motor car and showing the lifting mechanism lowered in position on the roadbed and supporting the car in raised position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3. M

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the bearings in which the displaceable lever is fulcrumed.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 10 designates the side rails of the chassis of a motor car, 11 the side rails of the upper framework of said car, and 12 the platform that is supported upon said upper rails. .Comparatively short uprights 14 are secured at their lower ends to side rails 10 and detachably secured to the upper ends of uprights 14 by means of bolts 15 are the lower ends of posts 16, the upper ends thereof being fixed to the upper rails 11. Brackets 17 are secured to posts 16 and support vertically disposed channel guides 18 in which is slidably mounted a substantially rectangular frame comprising a pair of upright side members 19, a transverse top member 20, and a transverse bottom member 21. Rigidly fixed to the central portion of the bottom transverse member 21 isa laterally projecting arm 22 in the outer portion of which is movably mounted a pin or bolt 24 having a foot plate 25 on its lower end. Resting on the transverse top member 20 and secured thereto is the lower end of a vertically disposed housing 26 having its upper end projecting upwardly through an opening formed in platform 12. A bar 27 is slidably arranged in said housing and is fixed at its upper end to the horizontal portion of an inverted U-shaped member 28, the lower ends of which are securedto the upper ends of uprights 16 and to side rails 11. One side of bar 27 is provided with vertically disposed ratchet teeth 2'7 with which is adapted to cooperate the inner end 29 of lever 29. This lever ismounted between lugs or ears 30 formed integral with and projecting outwardly from housing and having horizontally disposed elongated slots 31 in which operate the ends of a bolt 32, the latter being carried by lever 29 and forming a fulcrum therefor. The elongated slots 31 permit lever 29 to be shifted inwardly into engagement'with teeth 27 and outwardly into the outer ends of slots 31 out of engagement with teeth 27 The ends of slots 31 are recessed downwardly to provide seats for the ends of a bolt 32 andprevent accidental displacement of lever 29 duringthe raising or lowering operations.

A looking or retaining pawl 34 ispivotally arranged above lever 29 in lugs 35 formed on housing 26., The inner end 34? of-pawl 34 is designed to ride upon teeth 27 a during the upward-movement of bar 27 and to engage said teeth and hold said bar against downward movement. Pawl 34 is held in operating position by gravity, the bulk of its weightbeing arranged. upon the operating side thereof. The underside of pawl 34 is adapted to rest on a shoulder 26 formed on housing 26 between lugs 30. An outwardly projectingfinger 36 is formed on pawl 34 and affords means whereby said pawl can be manually operated on its pivot and thrown out of operative engagement with teeth 27*.

Platform 12 is provided with bearings 37 and which operates a pulley 38. Passing over this pulley is a cable or cord 39, one end of which is secured to the transverse top member 20 and connected to the other end of said cable is a weight which is guided in its vertical movement by vertically disposed rods 41 projecting upwardly from a bracket 42 and entering vertically disposed apertures or openings 4O in weight 40.

Bracket 42 is fixed to one of the vertical side posts 16. Weight 40 acts as a counterbalance and facilitates the lowering and raising of the rectangular frame consisting of members 19 and transverse members 20 and 21. A slidable latch bolt 44 is arranged on platform 12 and is adapted to enter through apertures formed in housing 26 I I openings formed in bar 27, whereby said bar can be locked in its extended or retracted positions. 7

In raising a motor 'car equipped with my device, the rectangular frame comprising vertical members 19 and transverse members 20 and 21 is lowered until the foot plate'25 rests on'th'e roadbed. Lever 29 is shifted inwardly so that the ends of bolt 32 occupy the inner ends of slots 31 and lever 29 is then operated to raise, through its engagement of inner end 29 with the teeth 27 bar 27 which has been previously .unlocked by retracting latch bolt 44. The upper end of bar 27 being fixed to member 28, the lower ends of which latter are secured to the framework of the motor car, the upward movement of bar 27 will move member 28 upwardly, thereby raising the motor car to which the lower ends of member 28 are secured, out of supportingcontact with the rails. The car is held in raised position by pawl '34engaging fteeth 27 on bar 27 and which pawl is supported in housing 26 carried by the rectangular frame which is supported on the roadbed by arm 22 carrying bolt 24 and'foot plate 25. l v i I The rectangular frameandthe motor car supported thereon c an'be swung into any position by'virt'ueof the pivotal supports 24 and 25. i In order'to lower the motor car, lever 29 i is shifted outwardly' s o that bolt 32. occupics the outer ends of, slots 31 and lever 29- 1s then brought into'substantially horizontal position, as indicated in dotted linesin Fig. 2m whichpositionthe inner end of lever 29 engages thefi'downwardly presented ratchet teeth 27. f The operator now presses with one hand lever 28 downwardly a sufiicient distance to move bar 27 upwardly so that the operator can move pawl 34 out of engagement with its cooperating tooth. Lever 28 is now brought upwardly, whereby its inner end 29 is moved downwardly out of engagement with its cooperating tooth so that the bar 27 will be lowered the distance of one tooth or until pawl 34 engages the next higher tooth. Lever 28 is then again brought into horizontal position and in engagement with the succeeding tooth andthe lever and pawl 34 are then manipulated so that bar 27 and the motor car "supported by it are lowered in stages by successively engaging teeth 27 on said bar by the inner end28 of lever29 and pawl 34. In this manner, the sudden dropping and jarring of the motor car is avoided and any dislocation or injury to the motor car or device which generally are caused by violent movements, is eliminated. 7

By making the device detachable from the chassis of the motor car, the underframe of said motor car and the engine supported thereon can be easily inspected and repaired Without dismantling the swinging and raising support of the motor car. 7

A lifting and swinging support for motor cars of my improved construction is comparatively simple, occupies comparatively little space upon the motor car, and provides simple and efiicient means whereby the operator of the car can readily reversethe position of the car upon theftrack or shift the position of said car so that it may be placed upon the rails of a crossing track;

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction 1 of the various parts ofmy'improved device can be made and substituted for thoseherein shown and described, without departlng' from the spiritof my invention, the scope of p which is set forth in the appended claims. I claim. 1. The combination of a motor car, vertically disposed guidewa s fixed'thereto, a slidable member mounte in said guideways and adapted to be moved in position on the ground, a housing carried by said slidable member, a vertically disposedmember secured to said motor car and having its lower end slidably mounted in, said housing, anda v ingcontact with the ground, a hou i fi to said frame, a vertically disposed member slidably mounted in said housing, and a manually operable lever mounted on said housing and adapted to engage said motor car supporting member, said lever being adapted to be shifted laterally into and out of operative engagement with said motor supporting member.

3. The combination of a motor car, vertically disposed guideways fixed thereto, a vertically disposed frame slidably mounted in said guideways, a foot plate carried by the lower end of said frame and forming a swinging support therefor when in supporting contact with the ground, a housing fixed to said frame, a vertically disposed member slidably mounted in said housing, a manually operable lever mounted on said housing and adapted to engage said motor car supporting member, said lever being adapted to be shifted laterally into and out of operative engagement with said motor supporting member, and a gravity actuated latching member for maintaining said motor supporting member in raised position and adapted to be moved into disengaging position.

4:. The combination with a motor car, of vertically disposed guideways fixed thereto, a slidable member mounted in said guideways and adapted to be moved into supporting contact with the roadbed, a housing carried by the upper end of said slidable member, a ratchet member mounted for vertical movement in said housing and secured tosaid motor car, and a lever fulcrumed on said housing and adapted to operatively engage said ratchet member, said lever having a displaceable fulcrum whereby it can be shifted into operative or inoperative positions.

5. The combination with a motor car, of a sub-frame fixed to the chassis of said motor car, an u per frame detachably secured to said subrame and provided with vertically disposed guideways, a supporting frame slidably mounted in said guideways and provided with a foot plate which is adapted to rest on the ground and form a swinging support for said supporting frame, a toothed bar slidably mounted in the upper end of said supporting frame, and a displaceable lever adapted to engage the teeth on said bar and operate said bar in vertical plane.

6. The combination with a motor car, of vertically disposed guideways fixed thereon, a supporting frame slidably mounted in said guideways, a housing carried by said supporting frame, a ratchet member mounted for vertical movementin said housing and secured to said motor car, a laterally displaceable lever pivotally mounted in said housing and adapted to operatively engage said ratchet member, and means for counterbalancing said supporting frame.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature this 18th day of March, 1921.

JOSEPH E. LOEFFLER. 

